New Canaan Too Much For Farmington, Beating Indians, 46-0

The sixth-seeded Indians' first playoff berth since 1999 ended with a 46-0 loss at No. 3 seed New Canaan at Dunning Field in the Class L quarterfinals.

Nick Cascione completed 21 of 31 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Rams (12-1), No. 5 in the Courant state ratings. New Canaan will face North Haven in the semifinals on Saturday. Ivan Guadalupe rushed for 39 yards on 13 carries for Farmington (9-3). The CCC-FCIAC showdown was never close, as New Canaan dominated on both sides of the ball.

"They just beat us up front early," said Farmington coach Chris Machol. "They're a superior team. They're a very, very good team. There's a reason why they're ranked so highly. Our guys competed, we just didn't have to compete with a team as good and well coached as New Canaan."

Although the season ended on a low note, Machol said the Indians accomplished their main goal.

"I'm extremely proud; we had this as a goal to make the playoffs," Machol said. "I just told our guys, 'Only 32 teams are left playing in December and we were one of them.'"

New Canaan started the season 11-0 before losing to Darien on Thanksgiving Day. The Rams responded to their first loss of the year, and then some.

"We really came out focused all week during practice. We really wanted to make a statement that this wasn't going to be our last game," Cascione said. "We wanted to make a statement that we weren't done and we're going to keep fighting until the very end."

Frank Cognetta got the scoring started for the Rams with a 1-yard run with 5:07 left in the first quarter. Nick Cascione added a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. In the second, Cascione and the vaunted New Canaan passing attack got going, and Farmington could never recover.

Cascione led a 14-play, 99-yard drive that was capped with a 12-yard Cognetta touchdown to give the Rams a 19-point halftime cushion. Cascione had 166 passing yards at the break. Cole Turpin caught a quick screen pass and outran the defense for a 46-yard touchdown with 10:25 left in the third quarter.

After Farmington moved the ball into New Canaan territory, Jeremy Buck was intercepted by Michael DiCosmo at the Rams' 31-yard line. Alex LaPolice finished the New Canaan starters' night with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Cascione with 2:50 left in the third quarter to take a 39-0 lead.

"He seems to be back," said New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli of Cascione. "Hopefully we can continue that through the playoffs. It's nice to have him back. I think this was good for his confidence tonight."

It was the first shutout of the season for the Rams, whose defense intercepted Buck three times.

"It seemed like every time they got close, we'd come up with an interception," Marinelli said. "I think that's a hell of a statement for our seniors. Our seniors have worked very hard and I just hope we can carry it over to Saturday and carry it on from there."